Thor Energy is moving its South Australian hydrogen and helium portfolio towards a more defined exploration phase, with seismic work at the HY-Range Project expected to play a key role in selecting future drilling targets. The company holds an 80.2% interest in HY-Range through Go Exploration. The project is covered by Regulated Substance Exploration Licence RSEL 802 and is the main focus of Thor’s natural hydrogen and helium work in South Australia.
Recent exploration has strengthened the case for further technical work. Phase 2 soil-air geochemistry results reported in June 2026 recorded natural hydrogen values of up to 3%, or 30,000 parts per million. The programme also supported three previously identified high-priority areas at Mallala, Lochiel and Crystal.
Thor selected Australian contractor Velseis for a programme expected to cover around 464 line-kilometres. The work is intended to improve the company’s understanding of basement structures, fault systems and other geological features that may influence the generation, migration and trapping of hydrogen and helium.
The seismic programme should also provide better depth control and allow Thor to combine new subsurface data with existing gravity, magnetic, passive seismic and geochemical information.
Surface anomalies can identify areas worth investigating, but drilling decisions depend on a stronger understanding of what is happening below ground. Seismic data is therefore expected to reduce geological uncertainty before Thor commits capital to exploration wells.
The company has also increased its exposure to natural hydrogen and helium elsewhere in South Australia.
In February 2026, Thor announced the award of two Regulated Substance Exploration Licence Applications in the onshore Otway Basin through a 50:50 joint venture with H2EX Ltd. Together, the areas cover 4,123 square kilometres.
One of the licence areas includes the historic Robe-1 well, where a natural hydrogen concentration of 25.4% was recorded. That historic result does not establish a commercial resource, but it gives Thor another geological setting in which natural hydrogen has previously been identified.
The broader South Australian position gives the company more than one exploration area to assess. This reduces reliance on a single target and gives Thor additional geological information that may help shape future exploration decisions.
Helium also remains part of the strategy. Thor is assessing hydrogen and helium across the same broader exploration portfolio, creating the potential for more than one commercially relevant gas if future drilling confirms recoverable accumulations.
Thor Energy PLC (LON:THR) is a leading exploration company focused on natural hydrogen and helium, with a significant footprint in the highly prospective South Australian region.
